CONSTRUCTION has started on a controversial new wind farm near Stockton.

Banks Renewables, part of the Durham-based Banks Group, began preparing and laying the infrastructure on the site, at Lambs Hill, in March and the huge components started arriving on-site yesterday (Thursday).

The scheme went through a five-year planning wrangle, with locals objecting vociferously, saying it was too close to their homes.

The nearest house is just 980m from the turbines and Stillington a little over a kilometre away.

The components for the turbines are being shipped through Teesport and will travel along the A19, A689 and A177 before being taken through Stillington to the Lambs Hill site.

The first turbine will start to take shape on-site on Tuesday (October 4), subject to weather conditions.

Banks said the deliveries will continue until mid-October and would be organised to have the least possible impact on traffic flow.

It also said that the wind farm was worth more than £1m to the local economy, which contracts worth well over that awarded to North-East sub contractors.

The wind farm will have an installed capacity of 10mw each year, enough to power thousands of homes. It is on schedule to begin producing clean energy before the end of the year.

Lewis Stokes, community relations manager at The Banks Group, said: “Work on the Lambs Hill site has progressed well over the summer, and we’re excited to reach the point where the turbines will begin to rise.

“Our delivery schedule is being timed to minimise any local traffic disruption, and we are working closely with the local authorities, the police, the Lambs Hill community liaison committee and people living in the immediate vicinity to both ensure this objective is realised and that everyone is kept up to date on when deliveries are scheduled to take place.

“Modern, efficient onshore wind farms such as Lambs Hill are acknowledged as providing the lowest cost form of carbon-free renewable energy generation for the UK, and we firmly believe they have a central role to play in the UK’s future energy mix, as well as in generating more renewable energy.”